Disneyland August 1956: Color Restoration 5

The final post in my August 1956 is all about the Skyway. Image #1 shows the Tomorrowland Skyway Station, as well as the sign for the Autopia. My favorite part of the photo is the two dudes with the jaunty hats—how retro! Image #2 is back to the Phantom Boats, with the Mickey Mouse Club Circus Tent visible in the background. By this time, the Mouseketeers had left the tent and Professer Keller & his kitties had about a month to go. In the detail shot provided, you can also see the train at the Fantasyland Depot.





More jaunty hat action in this image, as well as a guest getting ready to pick her nose...shame on her! For signage and safety geeks, I have added a closeup of the Autopia warning sign:





At present day Disneyland, yesterday marked the 45th Anniversary of the Enchanted Tiki Room. Disney celebrated with a merchandise event that caused some devoted guests to wait over 4 hours in line for a chance to pick up some of the way cool collectibles that were available. The long wait was made shorter by conversing with Stuff From the Park’s Patrick & Carlene from Ape Pen Publishing. Patrick pointed out to me an unnoticed detail of the Omnibus. Both he and Carlene suggested I stand in front of the bus to get the best shot...while it was moving. People will do anything to get further up in the line.



Bob Gurr also showed up for the festivities, decked out in his Tiki Best.



Photo #2 shows the amazing artists Jody Daily & Kevin Kidney, the masterminds behind much of the 50th Anniversary collectibles that everyone swarmed to buy.



Naturally, after depleting my bank account for merchandise, I checked out the Tiki Room which provided a welcome air-conditioned respite from the heat.





See more vintage Skyway photos at my website.

Disneyland August 1956: Color Restoration 4

Yet another day in Tomorrowland, 1956. Originally, Tomorrowland was similar to a County Fair, with lots of exhibits from major brand names. One in particular was sponsored by Dutch Boy Paints. Previously, I had posted this dark photo that showed the interior of their exhibit, The Dutch Boy Paint Color Gallery; this 2nd photo is from the August 1956 batch and shows a clearer view of the color circles on the ceiling.



We also get 2 nice views of the Autopia; in the background of shot #1 we see the infamous cattle cars of the Disneyland Railroad.



In Autopia shot #2, there’s a glimpse of the Phantom Motor Boats, chugging around in their final summer appearance:





This shot taken from the Skyway provides a better idea of what the Phantom Boats looked, which was something right out of Batman! Holy Smokes! I wonder if the pink one inspired Mary Kay Cosmetics?



Come back tomorrow for the final post of this August 1956 series. See more vintage & current Tomorrowland photos at my website.

Disneyland August 1956: Color Restoration 3

Over in Tomorrowland, we get a glimpse of the Space Bar through the chain-link fence, but ever more importantly, how about those luscious attraction posters? Any one of these four would easily fetch a thousand or two today.









From the Skyway we have this great shot of the Astrojets and the TWA Moonliner/Rocket to the Moon attraction:



I close today’s post with a rare albeit blurry look into the inner sanctum of said attraction:



Come back tomorrow for even more photos of Tomorrowland, 1956!

See more vintage & current Tomorrowland photos at my website.

Disneyland August 1956: Color Restoration 2

Still on Main Street U.S.A., August 1956. A red horseless carriage carries guests up to Central Plaza and the Castle. On the far left of the photo, you can catch a glimpse of one of the most notorious shops every to grace Main Street: Hollywood Maxwell’s Intimate Apparel, aka The Wizard of Bras. The shop closed shortly after this photo was taken. Here’s a closeup of that area, complete with a dummy sitting on the porch:



In front of the Main Street Cinema is one of the two Wooden Indians that can be found at the park:



Over in Adventureland, we have a lovely shot of the Jungle Cruise:



Come back tomorrow for our exciting exploration of Tomorrowland, 1956! See more vintage & current Main Street photos at my website.

Disneyland August 1956: Color Restoration

Thought I’d start today’s series off with a little "before and after" restoration comparison. I love the Main Street Train Station; what an awesome building to first see when you go through the gates. The scale and style of buildings at Disneyland’s Main Street really gives you a feel of an old-fashioned midwest Main Street. Personally, I think that the WDW version fails to capture this intimate feel, as it is too large and too overdone. You can definitely see the 1970’s influence in the design of their Main Street:



Back to business at hand, which is August 1956, and this Town Square City Hall shot makes me hungry for ice cream. Anybody got a nickel?



Over by the Bank of America, hat sales seem a little slow today:



Here’s an overview shot of Town Square, with the Moonliner peaking out from the background:



See more vintage & current Main Street photos at my website.

Disneyland in focus: The Opera House

The Main Street Opera House is based in fact; most "Main Street" towns had an Opera House, although the majority of what I have seen in the midwest were not half as big in size as this one. Here is a construction photo of the Opera House being constructed. This 1956 color photo shows what the façade looked like when finished:



Initially, there wasn’t much going on at the Opera House; in 1961, it opened up to guests who could see the sets from the popular Disney musical, “Babes in Toyland,” starring Annette Funicello. Thanks to the Devlin family and The Magic Kingdom Club, we have somewhat of an inside view of what the sets look like:





From 1963–1964, The Opera House served as the “Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters.” Young guests could sign-up and receive and official membership card. You can see the Mickey Mouse Club Headquarters sign & poster at the entrance in this March 1964 photo, also shown here with a closeup:





It wasn’t until “Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln” came to the Opera House in July 1965 that this building achieved much fame. Here is the exterior from August 1965:



And one of the standard publicity shots that fails to capture just how amazing the Audio-Animatronic Mr. Lincoln was:



Abe went into mothballs for the 50th, and was replaced by “The First Magical 50 Years,” an interesting film narrated by Steve Martin that tells how Disneyland came to be. In addition, the Opera House has been home to a model of what the park looked like on opening day; how cool would it be to have this in your living room?!?







Here is a current view of the Opera House, still showing the 50th Anniversary film:



Be sure to check out the new 45th Anniversary Edition of “The Sword in the Stone.” It has a nice set of extras; more than what the publicity release tells.



See more vintage & current Main Street Opera House photos at my website.

Disneyland: In Living Color, 1958 Pt. 5

Today’s entire post will be spent on the Jungle Cruise, circa 1958, with the photos presented in the order that they were taken. Where possible, each photo will be paired with a contemporary view. This has got to be one of the most comprehensive sets of photos in my collection from one voyage (besides the obsessive ones that I take!). The butterflies in this shot are one of the most difficult things to capture, due to the speed of the boat and the poor lighting.





One of my favorite sections of the old Jungle Cruise is this area of the Ancient City:



The famous African Bull Elephant:





Originally, this African Veldt scene occurred without any cover over the feasting felines:





Naturally, there is at least one Hippo shot in the batch:



The natives are doing their thing:







Can you believe they even got the back side of water?!?





And the final shot is one that we don’t see any more; this ape bit the dust years ago:



See more vintage & current Jungle Cruise photos at my website.